Bleeding Limey Chironomid Pupa Fly

Bleeding Limey Chironomid Fly Pattern

With most of our chironomid pupa fly patterns the concept is simple and durable. That’s not a bad thing because in addition to being easy to tie they are deadly little patterns that consistently fool big BC interior trout! Sometimes, however, the fish are keying in on something very specific and you have to follow suit with your imitation in order to stay in the game … enter the Bleeding Limey Chironomid pupa fly pattern!

Bleeding Limey Chironomid Fly | History:

The “bleeding limey” chironomid pupa fly was developed out of necessity. It all came about one spring day when we were only having sporadic success even though every fish we pumped was stuffed full of chironomid pupa. The problem, however, wasn’t that we didn’t have any chironomids in our fly box, but that we didn’t have any chironomid pupae patterns that were a close enough match to the specific pupae that the trout decided they were going to focus on that day. Determined that would not happen again, we snapped a few sample pictures and hit the tying bench. The result was the bleeding limey chironomid pupa fly. Since then, this fly continues to prove itself every time the fish are on the green red butt chronies. Needless to say it has earned a permanent home in our fly boxes.

Bleeding Limey Chironomid Fly | Acetone & Acetate Floss:

It doesn’t seem that long ago that acetate floss was all the rage on the fly tying scene …

Acetate floss is very similar to standard fly tying floss except that, when treated with acetone, the floss melts and becomes hard and translucent making for some extremely realistic fly bodies. You can achieve very unique results depending on the technique that you use. You can wind it, braid it and/or layer it to accomplish different looks. You can also use different materials under the floss, which will show through after a dip in the acetone, causing interesting translucence in the finished product. The best way to determine what works for you will be to get creative with it. We often use acetate floss for multi colour bodies (ie red butts) as it has wonderful transition and blending qualities.

… And then, almost as fast as it came, the hub bub seemed to disappear. Fortunately by then we had already developed a few deadly acetate floss patterns that have remained near and dear to our hearts … the bleeding limey chironomid pupa fly is one of them 😉

Bleeding Limey Chironomid Fly | Tying Materials:

Thread: Black 8/0

Hook: Mustad Signature Series C49 (#12 in this case)

Gills: White Antron Wool or Glo Yarn

Bead: Black Metal (1/8 works well for #12 and bigger)

Body: Red & Green Acetate floss

Rib: Small Copper Wire

Collar: Peacock Herl

Sheen: Krazy Glue

Bleeding Limey Chironomid Fly | Tying Instructions:

Start the black tying thread behind the eye of the hook and tie in a short hunk of white antron wool extending out over and past the hook eye.

Tie off the black tying thread and slip the black metal bead up over the white antron wool until it sits nice and tight against the hook eye.

Tie in a piece of red acetate floss behind the bead and wrap it down to the hook bend — once there tie in the copper rib and return the red tying thread to just behind the bead.

Wind the red acetate floss back up to behind the bead and secure – remove the waste.

Now tie in a piece of the green acetate floss right behind the bead and wrap it 3/4 of the way down the hook -return the tying thread to behind the bead.

Wrap the green acetate floss back up to behind the bead and secure – remove the waste.

Wind the copper wire forward in spaced turns (to create the rib) and tie it off behind the bead – remove the waste.

Tie in a piece of bronze/red peacock herl and form a small thorax right behind the black bead.

Whip finish the fly right behind the black bead

Remove the fly from the vice and dip it into the acetone making sure to fully immerse all of the acetate floss – remove after a few seconds and return fly to vice.

Give the fly a few minutes to dry and then coat the entire body with krazy glue – let dry.

Bleeding Limey Chironomid Fly | The Video:

And because a pictures worth a thousand words, here’s a video of the whole process! 😀

Bleeding Limey Chironomid Fly | Fishing it …

Whether it’s the “Lady in red, the Producer or the Bleeding Limey chironomid pupa, acetate floss chironomid fly patterns are fished as you would any other chironomid pupa fly pattern – still or very slow moving and “in the zone” (and therefore the fishes view) for as long as possible. You can long line it with a floater or use a full sink right below the boat for deeper water. Either way, if the fish are focusing on this pattern, and probably sometimes even if they’re not, you’re bound to have a lot of fun with this uniquely effective BC Interior fly fishing machine!

*** if you’re interested in custom tied, time tested & proven effective BC Interior fly patterns, but would rather buy than tie, please Contact us for details!

*** for more effective BC stillwater fly fishing patterns be sure to check out all of flies on our BCs best fly patterns index page!